Charles luseyler



C. L. SEYLER. AUTOMOBILE TRACKWAY.

APPLlcATloN FILED SEPT. 5. |919.

1,326,109. V Patented Dee. 23,1919.

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CHARLES 1L. SElYlIlr-ER,` O-F` OAKVAIJEQWWEST VIRGINIA.

AuirolvroBILE-TRACKWAY.

:Specification of Letterslatent.

rateareanee. es, 191e.

j Application filed September 5, 1919.` SeriallNo. 321,896.

scription of the invention, `such as will en able others skilled in the art to uwhich it appertains to make andnse the same. l

VThis inventionvrelates to automobile storage or garage equipment and pertains especially 4toa' forni'of" stand ontorwhich a vehicle or automobile may be driven to a given position.

As is well lniown in :public garages andin many private garages where more than one machine is toV be housed and where space is valuable, it frequently happens thatdue, sometimes to indifference, sometimes to inability and frequently to haste,V the several vehicles are not properly ltracked or run into their given spaces with a result that the fenders of the cars will project beyond designated lines and other cars will be crowded so ras to make it VinconvenientA to pass .around or have" access te the same and often' the cars are damaged becauseofoven crowding for the lac-k of suitable Vstanding space. Itis therefore: one of the important objects of thepresent'invention to provide means for positivelypiositioning a car, by such Aterm meaning anA automobile, in its given position and thus avoid overcrowding` and injury tov the Vcars being run. in, and

' again it isthe obj ectoftheinvention `to provide 'a means for facilitating the runningin of a car when the car space is for obvious reasons limited, as when the car stand or garage is of relatively small dimensions and in which case the garage may beV large enough onlyV for a single car and leave, barely, space to get around. Another object of the invention is to provide therefore a vehicle stand including a trackway that will automatically center the wheelsA of the vehicle'in a given position in the'event that it should be run infolf the givenlines.

With the above` and other objects in view, the invention consistsof the construction,

the combination and in details and arrangements of thepartslas'more particularly described hereinafter relative to the embodiment of the invention, illustrated inthe aceompanying drawings.

Wherein Figure l is a view of a portion of theioorof a garage showing a plurality of'tlie improved stands inlposition.

Fig. 2`is anenlarged plan view of a single garage vehicle stand.

F ig. 3 is anend view of Fig. 2 looking into theend or lentrance of the stand.

Fig. 4 isa plan view in detail of a portion of the standto illustrate a saddle for supporting the'journal rod of aset of rollers."

Fig. 5 is `a fragmentary enlarged portion of Fig.A 1, showing the roller mounts.

The present invention comprises generally sets of roller means here Vshown as including a series of cylindrical rollers, Iwhich are arranged substantially from' end to end, `the rollers being of suitable diameter and length accordingto the requirements in a given case, a series ofrollers 2 being mounted on a suitable journal vshaft or rod 3, theends ofwhich are shown as. passed through front and rear sill members and 5, which may be made of Vwood or other suitable material laid upon' or countersunk in the `floor ofthe garageV or other storage place. A pair of rods 3 with respective `rollers 2 forms one trackway for the wheels of one side of a vehiclerwhen the rollers are laid in parallel- .ismat a-suitable'spacesothat the upper and adjacent portions of the surfaces of the .rollers form a' support along which the wheels can travel. Therefore one set or pair of rods with their rollers 2 forms the tracks for the left hand wheels of the car while another pair of reds with their rollers" form `tlietrack for the rightha-nd pair of `wheelsof the car, the pairs being spaced, obviously according to'th'e gage Aofthe car. The front end of the trackway formed by the pairs of sets of rollers 2-2 is provided with ingress or guide devices of any suitable construction or material and indicated at 6 as comprising guideways having upwardly and outwardly diverging side or guide walls 7 7 to facilitate the entry of the front wheels onto the trackway formed by the pairs of sets of rollers, and at the rear end of the trackway any suitable stop. device may be utilized, such, for instance, as block 8, secured to the rear sill 5.

In order to support the rods 3-3 against bending under the weight of the car, suitable bearing plates or braces 9 illustrated in Fig. 4; are placed beneath the respective pairs of rods, and in this case the ends of the braces v9 are fastened by bolts or other suitable devices to longitudinally extended stringers 11 along each side of the trackways these stringers being suitably connected to the front and rear sills by mortising and tenoning. It is obvious of course that I lam not limited to any particular means for mounting the pairs of trackways or rollers as this may be accomplished according to the exigencies in the installation of the apparatus.

Upon the fforegoingi it will be seen that by my present invention when the trackways are laid either in a garage, where there may be a number of machines, or in the case where there may be a single garage of a width just sulficient to receive a single car and allow passageway around the same, the operator has to run the car onto the trackways and if the wheels are olf center with respect to a given pair of sets of rollers, the rollers will automatically turn over Linder the weight of the car and throw the wheels inwardly to a position centrally between the pairs of rotary track members. It is preferable that the rotative track members be made up in sections rather than a continuous piece the length of the trackway this to avoid undue friction that would occur by the tendency of the continuous trackway to roll under the pressure of the front wheels, for instance, if they were off center while the rear wheels would be running true.

hen I utilize sills upon which to support the rotary tracks, the car is then lifted somewhat and facilitates underneath repairing as may be necessary, and again, when this trackway is utilized in public garages, the cars are automatically positioned in their given spaces and the annoyance of having overcrowding is eliminated. Furthermore, a great saving of time is secured because of the readiness with which a car may be run directly into its given position in a single attempt so long as the wheels of the car are brought approximately within the vertical planes passing longitudinally through the axis of the rollers 3.

What I claim is:

1. A trackway comprising pairs of rotary tracks set in parallelism and in such juxtaposition as to automatically roll and move a body resting thereon to a medial plane between the parallel axes of the tracks.

2. A trac-kway comprising pairs of cylindrical rotary tracks in parallelism and in such juxtaposition as to automatically roll and move a body resting thereon to a medial plane between the parallel axes of the tracks.

3. A trackway comprising pairs of rotary tracks set in parallelism and in such juxtaposition as to automatically roll and move a body resting thereon to a medial plane betweenthe parallel axes of the tracks, and means for guiding the wheels of a vehicle onto' the trackvvay.

4. A storage stand for vehicles comprising pairs of parallel rotary members, said pairs spaced approximately from each other adistance equal to the gage of a given vehicle whereby when the vehicle is run onto the pairs of trackways it is automatically shifted by rotation of the tracks about their axes to a medial position upon the stand.

5. A storage stand for vehicles comprising pairs of parallel sets of rotary members, said pairs spaced approximately 'from each other a distance equal to the gage of a given vehicle whereby when the vehicle is run onto the pairs of trackways it is automatically shifted by rotation of the tracks about their axes to a medial position upon the stand.

6. An apparatus for automatically centering a wheeled vehicle in a given position, comprising pairs of sets of parallel rotary members, each pair consisting of members spaced apart a distance to accommodate `and support a tire of a wheel of a vehicle and to roll about their own axis when the wheels of a vehicle are off center with respect to the medial plane between the tracks of each pair and within vertical planes extending along the axes of each pair.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

CHARLES L. SEYLER. 

